Award Data

Polymer matrix composites are increasingly replacing traditional metallic materials in NASA launch vehicles. However, the repair and subsequent inspection methods for these materials are considerably more complicated. Typically, a composite laminate patch must be manually fabricated and bonded or co-cured to the damaged structure. To ensure high quality patches with sufficient compaction and l ...

With the capacity and performance of FPGAs suitable for space borne applications continuously increasing, the design of FPGAs is becoming increasingly complex involving trading off or simultaneous optimization of space, speed, and power. RNET and ANL are proposing to develop software infrastructure that facilitates automatic performance tuning of FPGAs in terms of speed, power, and size. We introd ...

Among the numerous technological advances sought in order to facilitate human space travel, solutions and innovations are needed for techniques that supports the mass- and energy-efficient maintenance of closed air, water, and waste systems in spacecraft habitats that operate within microgravity. As missions are foreseen to be extended with limited earth resupply available there is need to develop ...

The NASA Phase I program would develop and demonstrate semiconductor nanomembrane (NM) based flight sensors and arrays on flexible substrates, using SOI (Silicon on Insulator) silicon NM technique in combination with our pioneering HybridsilTM copolymer nanocomposite materials. Specifically, ultrathin nanostructured sensor skins with integrated interconnect elements and electronic devices that can ...

This NASA Phase I SBIR program would fabricate wireless networked nanomembrane (NM) based surface pressure sensors for remote monitoring in propulsion systems, using SOI (Silicon on Insulator) NM techniques in combination with our pioneering HybridSil ceramic nanocomposite materials. Such low-modulus, conformal nanomembrane sensor skins with integrated interconnect elements and electronic devices ...

Through the proposed STTR program, NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will create an innovative low viscosity, high Tg copolymer injection repair material and methodology that enables fiber reinforced composite repair within a short time frame in areas with limited user access. The proposed injection repair material will consist of fluidic HybridSil poly(siloxane imide) resins that are molecularly engine ...

Future long-duration, crewed space habitat systems will be inflatable structures. This type of structure is advantageous in that it is not limited to the diameter of the launch vehicle and can therefore provide a greater volume of living and work space. Unlike conventional metal structures, however, softbody inflatables require support members to maintain their desired shapes. Despite their robust ...

Through the STTR program, NanoSonic and Virginia Tech will create low-cost, reusable membranes that selectively capture and recycle nutrients (e.g., N, P, K) from urine in space. Urine is a readily available commodity in space that is rich in valuable nutrients for plant growth. Humans produce individually about 500 L of urine per year that contains ~7 g/L of nitrogen (N), ~1 g/L phosphorous (P) ...

TDA Research Inc.(TDA) in collaboration with University of Puerto Rico ? Mayaguez (UPRM is proposing to develop a highly efficient CO2 removal system based on UPRM proprietary strontium exchanged silico-alumino-phosphate (Sr-SAPO-34) for closed loop space craft cabin air re-vitalization during deep space missions.

Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) has been long regarded as the most attractive material for electro-optic modulation for high-performance optical communication systems of up to 100 GHz, as well as for its superior second-order optical non-linearity. The weakly confined LiNbO3 waveguides formed by diffusion or implantation of dopants do not lend themselves to high-level chip integration. One key novel tech ...